Hopping On

I will fully admit I did not want to leave my hotel room this morning. My legs are so sore. Sore in weird places. Hamstrings, maybe. What's a hamstring? I don't really know, but I'll bet it hurts.

Ultimately, what got me out of the room was the knowledge that this was only one of two full days I had in Barcelona, and I didn't want to waste it... and the fact that I was hungry.

I decided to do a hop on/hop off bus tour around the city... and then, you know, seldom hop off. I figured it would be a good way to see lots of Barcelona... without collapsing. Sure, I had to walk about a mile to Placa Catalunya to get my ticket and catch the bus, but I got a muffin on the way. €.90! NINETY CENTS for a muffin. I love Barcelona.

I had intended to use one tour bus service, but was talked into doing the other one by the guy selling me the ticket. I have no doubt a commission was involved, but since they were about the same price, I just went with it. Both tour companies have double-decker buses. I spent part of my journey on the upper deck, and changed to the lower one when I got too warm.

I hopped off exactly three times. One, at Park Guell, which I had read about and wanted to see. Unfortunately, it involved a trek up a big hill... And the park, being a park, is really best appreciated by those who are active. I was not feelin that. Still, I took in a few sights. 

At the entrance there was a ticket kiosk saying you could buy a "general ticket" for €8, not saying what the ticket was really for. I knew from my research that the park was free except for a couple of areas. But I bet a lot of people see the sign/kiosk and think it's for park admission and they pay. Lame.

Back on the bus, I made plans to switch from the "green" route to the "orange" one, as there are three stops that overlap. At one of these stops I spotted an Imaginarium store! So I disemarked and went in there for a bit. Then a trip into Starbucks to get some rations for dinner, and THEN I got on the orange-line bus. This route was more scenic. We got to see the Olympic stadium, which was neat. I didn't do the whole route, because one of the stops toward the end was in walking distance of my hotel. So I hopped off and called it a day.

So now I am resting, trying to decide what on earth to do tomorrow.

Here are some photos from around Barcelona....